Unfortunate Karma
by jmtothemusic
Summary: The laws of equivalent exchange go further than just taking what is necessary- they tear at the hearts daring enough to challenge Truth; taking what balances the set equation, and ironically take exactly what the sinner hadn't realized they had. Edward is forced to watch his brother die of illness; and is plunged into karma face first. *Sum. inside OC
1. Prologue

Edward Elric was the kind of person to take risks; though he was not ignorant-no, Edward Elric was always aware of the dangers that persisted when putting his life on the line.

Although to the untrained eye, the Fullmetal alchemist was foolish, selfish, a military lap dog, this was quite the contrary.

The Fullmetal Alchemist, Hero of the People, Edward Elric, was a selfless child with a heart of gold to match his eyes and hair. The child who committed the ultimate taboo among alchemists at age 11, seemed to be an evil act of greed. However, this deed was meant only to bring his deceased mother back from the dead. The child was willing to offer his limbs to the Gate of Truth, to throw himself whole-heartedly to God in exchange for his mothers life.

Yes, his beloved mother had been stolen from life when she was struck with illness, leaving Edward to look after his younger brother... as his father had left him at a young age.

The rumor has it that Edward had put his younger brother, Alphonse Elric, into a cold, unfeeling suit of armor...but again, these rumors have been tainted. The boy had offered his arm in exchange for retrieving his younger brother's soul from the Gate of Truth.

This is the Fullmetal Alchemist; a dog of the military, a genius, a two limbed alchemist, and the Hero of the People.

Along his journey, he wished to bring his little brother's soul back to his flesh body: Alphonse had no ability to sleep, eat, feel...and Edward's only wish was to save him from his misery. And at age 12, he received prosthetic limbs and set out to become a military alchemist. His journey continued for four years; a struggle with battling 7 deadly sins, suffering death, pained by truth and burdened by his own power.

Now, at age 16, irony kicks in on our hero; His brother has been returned to his body, only to be pained by the same illness that had killed his mother-the one that has no cure.


	2. Chapter 2

Alphonse's coughs racked his slim body, hidden beneath the thick sheets in Edwards military dorm: Edward had hoped to resign from his position after retrieving Alphonse's body from the Gate of Truth, but upon finding his sibling's illness, the child was forced to continue earning money to rent out the dorm room. Additionally, Edward was spending the majority of his off time searching for a cure for Alphonse's illness, even though he would have to go through medical school-

Which would be impossible, as Edward wouldn't leave Alphonse's side. Luckily the child was a genius, he could easily learn the information by text books received from the Central Library.

That was where it all began: Edward's despair from experiencing his life's purpose dying in front of him may have been the ultimate cause for this-or perhaps it was sheer coincidence. Whatever it had been, the girl had been thankful.

A man tossed her into the rain, "An Ishvalan piece of trash is here! Get this heap of garbage out of my shop!" he had hollered, gripping the girl by the hair. The man was a soldier, trained to hate the 'inferior' race of humans; the Ishvalans: the ones who were ordered to be exterminated during the Civil War, and the one's who had caused horrors among many Amestrian soldiers.

A crowd gathered; among them were grinning men and women who approved of the cruelty in front of their eyes, and the others who had different opinions. Nobody spoke a word against the actions that took place.

"This piece of garbage tried to steal apples from my wife's shop!" He shouted wildly, swinging the girls limp body around as though to demonstrate her to those around him. "Someone call the police!"

Edward had been on his way to the central Library for his usual research, and being his social status in Central city, he hid his face benieth a thick rain coat to avoid paparazzi. However, upon hearing the cry's for police help, the young boy stepped into the picture.

"There will be no need for that." Edward spoke, weaving his way through the crowd. The man stopped shaking the young girl, and saluted Ed.

"Full-Fullmetal Alchemist sir, what brings you here, sir..?" stuttered the man shamefully.

"I'd like to ask you a few questions." responded the child-the hero of the people.

"Y-Yes?"

"Not you." interrupted Edward. His eyes dropped to the girl. "Let go of her."

The crowd stood stunned by the Hero's actions; he was known to be a hot-headed teen, one with a temper. He was part of the military, so why did he support this girl? Out of sheer curiosity, the civilians stayed put.

The man dropped the girl, and stepped back into his wife's shop, remaining in a saluting position. At all times, the couple watched the boy stare down the girl.

Shivering on the ground, the girl's ragged clothing clung to her skin. She feared the teen standing over her, the one with flaming power in his eyes- the one who had been able to intimidate the abusive man. She dared not challenge him, even though she wanted to scream her misfortunes in his face, to show him she was equil, even though at the moment she was not looking nor feeling so.

"What did you do to anger this soldier."

She did not respond.

"Will you speak to me?"

She stayed silent

"Do you speak Amestrian?"

She looked at her hands, not wanting to admit she did.

He sighed, reaching a steady, prosthetic hand out to her. "Get up."

She did not take his hand. She stood up shakily.

Edward's fatigue had left him unaware of her shivering until now, or perhaps his misery did. But when he looked at her mal-nuroushed body, trembling between the cold rain and fear of the crowd, he pulled off his trench coat and draped it around her shoulders. She had no idea what to do with it.

The crowed "ooh" and "Ahh"'d at Edward's actions of lifting each of the Ishvalan's arms up and slipping his jacket onto them. They were even more stunned when he tied the waste band for her, and walked away. The crowed cleared a path for him, this time.

When he turned toward the girl and gestured to her to come with him, she scurried over to him as fast as her slim legs would carry her.

FMAFMA

She had no idea where they were going, but she felt extremely uncomfortable whenever somebody would glance at her. She knew what they had thought about her; she was the scum of the world, a race of human garbage.

"Stay close to me" Said the teen who led her. He had long golden hair to match his large, determined gold eyes. He was soaked from the rain, since he had given her the rain coat. Everywhere they walked, people would gape at him with admiration, but then hesitate seeing her.

She didn't know how to feel about him; as much as she appreciated him saving her, he was Amestrian, and his people followed him. He could not be up to much good, she thought.

Reluctantly, though, she did move closer to him, afraid of becoming captured among the crowd.

When the boy came to a stop, resulting in the ishvalan girl bumping into his suddenly still body, she discovered a massive building present in front of her; Central Command.

_He's...He's going to turn me in to the military...I'm being taken to the MILITARY!_

She spun around as fast as her fragile body would allow, and sprinted as fast as she could down the nearest street, only to be grabbed by the coat that she had borrowed from her 'savior'.

"The Hell are you runnin' for?!" Asked said boy upon catching her.

She looked wildley around her, trying to find an escape or perhaps another Ishvalan to cry out for...but it was just her and this...this...Amestrian.

She couldn't look him in the eye... She darted her head away from his gaze. What was she expecting from him, being her skin color and eye color? How could she even allow herself to THINK that she could find food in the bordering country?

A sudden wash of guilt ran throughout her body when she realized that just the way all the Amestrians had judged her because of HER race, she judged them. She thought for a minute that just because this boy led her near the base that he would turn her in. Why would he? He wouldn't even be able to get into the base, being he wasn't in the military... He couldn't be more than 14. So she innnocently glanced up at his eyes, and they locked on hers.

Then she remembered. The crowed had respected him, and shouted out that he was the "Fullmetal Alchemist"... She had no idea what that meant, only that he must have indulged in the sinned art of Alchemy.

"Are you going to let me help you, or not." Asked the boy. He had a temper in his irked voice, but he did not blow up like the stories claimed he would. He did not yell, or shout about his stature, (or lack there of), or anything of the sort. He sounded nothing but.. exhausted.

She simply nodded at him, finally allowing herself to trust, and was shocked when he pulled out a silver watch to the guards in front of Central Command, even more shocked when they opened the doors...

He was in the military.

He was a state alchemist.

And he had an iron grip on her that told her she was not going to run this time.


	3. Chapter 3

Once inside the building, she felt as nervous as ever...where was he taking her? What was his plan? She felt uneasy and couldn't trust anyone.

Her 'captor' rapped on a wooden door, listening by the polished wood for a response, which was a quiet "brother..?".

The Ishvalan girl stiffened, stealing a glance at the owner of the hand that gripped her, and steadily walked through the door.

It was not what she expected: there were two petite beds, one which looked as though it could hold two, and the other containing a being, one that was absolutely smothered with blankets and pillows. Beside him was a bedside table that had about 12 bottles of medicine and a few glasses of water to the left of a tray of assorted crackers and cheeses. The dorm had four rooms; two bedrooms, the kitchen, and the foyer.

She was not curious about the room, however. The boy benieth the dampened sheets interested her: His face was a shade of childish pink, with matching eyes filled with innocence and pain, and seeing the size of the lump under the covers, he was about ten years old.

Why had she been taken here? She wondered. The boy beside her locked the door behind them, but respectivly set the keys where she could see them, as though to tell her that she was allowed to leave, but should not. She couldn't say she appreciated the gesture.

"I'm home" spoke the healthiest of the three, being the Fullmetal Alchemist.

"I noticed," spoke the other softly, his sickly eyes drifting over to his older brother's company "and you brought a girl."

She was surprised that he referred to her as a 'girl' rather than 'Ishvalan trash", and the kid actually seemed to have some sort of amused approval in his tired voice.

But his older brother clearly didn't see this amusement and responded ignorantly with "Yes, she's hungry and I thought she might want to eat somewhere safe".

A silent understanding passed throughout the room, as the elder brother removed the wet jacket she wore and headed into the kitchen. She glanced at the key, but did not take it.

FMAFMA

"Don't you think you should just stay in bed, Al? I can just bring your dinner in here and-"

"Brother, it's okay. I can walk to the kitchen without spitting blood." Alphonse, as he was named, responded. He glanced up at the girl and upon seeing her worried face, said "don't worry, it's not contagious.", as if that was what concerned her.

The three sat quietly at the table, eating whatever it was supposed to be that Fullmetal was feeding them. When Alphonse attempted to de-awkward the situation by commenting on how much his brother had improved in his cooking, she wondered what he must had been like before.

"Yeah", agreed the eldest, "but you've always been a great cook, Al, it's just because you always try to improve my cooking with your 'constructive critiscism'".

Al laughed gently, "at least I don't have to do all the cooking now."

A quiet swept in, all three of them understood that it was required of Edward to learn how to cook, because Alphonse couldn't. Unfortunately, they all admitted to themselves, he is remarkably untalented.

Luckily, the girl had been starved for such a while that his cooking seemed all star, and she wished she could thank him. She was just too afraid to speak.

FMAFMA

When evening fell, the three sat by Alphonse's bed and listened to the rain pour. The three understood the hardship that could have happened to the girl if she were outside at the moment.

And a knock ruptured their train of thought. The brothers glanced with understanding at one another, and nodding the elder stood, saying softly to the two, "stay still".

Upon opening the door, a large military guard saluted the alchemist, but held a challenge in his eyes. "Mr. Elric", he began sternly, "We have reports of you taking an ishvalan into your dorm".

And so she darted behind the blonde, and stared guiltily at the man who stood over her. She had brought this troublesome man to this kind person's house, and would not cause them any more trouble.

The man grinned down at her. "You know this is illegal, Colonel Elric. You could get court martialed for this; and here you are, standing in a MILITARY dorm, with a woman of a race whom your surperiors fought. You don't deserve the respect that you get, mister 'Hero of the People'."

And he reached for her wrist, yanking her stumbling body from behind the hero, and pulling her disrespectfully close to him.

And that's when our hero stood straiter; "You say this is illegal..."

"It is, mister Elric." seethed the man, tightening hold on her now red wrist.

"Do you want to know what else would be illegal..?" he began, approaching closer to the much larger man, "if I were to use my alchemy to deform your body and fuse it with the wall that separates my dorm from yours, that way you could watch as I allow _as many _ishvalans as I want come into MY house... and what else? If I were to wring your neck right now and stab you strait in that ego-inhanced brain of yours, and left you bleeding outside my door step." And with that, Edward pulled the girl back into the doorm, "tonight I will committing something illegal, it's your choice which I do."

And he then slammed the door strait in the angry guard's face.

She stood utterly shock, pulse slowing finally, and tears beginning to well up in her eyes at the sight of her hero. And she made a bold choice:

"..What..., what is your name,Colonel, sir.?

He faced her, the light shining behind him, "Edward...Edward Elric. And you?"

She felt the tears escape her, hearing an amestrian treat her as an equal, "it's Karma" she found herself saying. And they both felt the irony in the entire situation.

**A/N:**

**So...3 chapters in one day?! I know. I was trying to make a conflicted character, and some irony and symbolism throughout the story because I LIVE FOR THAT STUFF. So please tell me how I'm doing! you can tell me if it's bad, too! i love criticism! :D**


	4. Quick meeting

**A/N: Hey everyone sorry for the wait... I honestly didn't know anyone was reading this story because I didn't know how to check the stats! So I seldom updated...sorry. Hey, I'll tell you what...if I got a review or 2 I'd have known people read it ;D. But guys it'd be great if I'd get a review just to know how I'm doing, I'd love some criticism so I can improve! Or just a "Hey nice chapter. better than last 1" or even "this sucked. Boring." Honestly just tell me what you thought so I can make you happy! I'll listen to suggestions too, or ideas, or prompts and EVERYTHING I'll even read a suggested story and review it just R&R and tell me if you like the chapter lengths too! (sorry about this ridiculous AN I'm sorry if it's annoying...XD) **

**HAPPY READING (maybe reviewing..? :))**

Edward allowed Karma to stay over that night, but having seen that soldier stop by his house earlier that evening, he decided it'd be best to pay a visit to General Mustang: Mustang had been courteous to Edward to give him paperwork instead of his usual missions, which normally required travel. Being Alphonse's condition, Ed needed to be close to home at all times incase of emergency. But Edward knew Roy didn't have many of his team members left, and was missing most of his loyal subordinates. Hawkeye was still the Fuher's assistant, and Furey, Breda, and Falman had been scattered among different squads, in the Western region. There was a war in the Western nations, so the military was pulling men from all areas to watch the border between Amestris and Creta. Edward and Havoc were his only two loyal subordinates remaining.

Plus, since Roy was a leap away from becoming furher, competition came from all the other Generals, including (the always cold) General Armstrong. For Roy, pressure was coming in all directions, and the fact that he still was considerate toward Edward and Alphonse's needs was extremely thoughtful.

Trudging through the continuously pouring rain, Ed stood in front of Central Command, taking out his pocket watch so the guards would open the gates. He swiftly moved into the dry building, and wriggled out of his soaked jacket.

Standing outside of General Roy Mustangs office, Edward gripped his folder filled with paperwork. He didn't know if he was really ready for his usual interrogation.

Sighing, he turned the doorknob and stepped into the light of the room. General Mustang was furiously signing "work", and was mumbling orders under his breath. His crew behaved the same way.

His attention snapped to Edward. Stealing a glance at the exhausted child's face, his gaze drifted to his soaked clothing. "Well, hello Fullmetal; you're looking dapper as ever."

Havoc offered Edward an understanding smile, which was returned. It must have been Hell for Havoc to deal with the General in this condition, being his stress levels from being pressed from all angles.

"So, Fullmetal, you've finally become taller than the work you produce... or are you just slaking?"

Edward bit back a sharp retort, and instead answered, "Ha, coming from the man who had time for THREE dates last weekend?!"

"They were SPEED DATES, Fullmetal, get your facts right."

"And I bet none of them knew of the other two women you were dating, am I right, you player?"

"Actually they all knew about each other and loved my handsome complexion enough to ignore the fact that I'm a player", said the General, sarcastically rubbing his chin in false musing.

"In that case, you're dating total trash."

"Yes, but _three_ sets of trash."

"So you're into quantity, not quality, eh?"

Mustang smirked, while Ed frowned in disapproval. "So Edward, are you here to flirt with me or are you here to get something done."

"Well..." responded an awkward Edward; thrown off from that last comment. "I brought you my stack..." He said, moving to hand the General his work.

"Well, it seems you finally got something done...it took you, what, four years to learn to do paperwork..?"

It was true. The four years Edward was in the military, he had never done his paperwork until now, because he was always on field missions. Sure, Edward would fill out a short report about what he'd learned and the findings of a mission, but it was never really "paperwork". Reports summed up a mission. Paperwork was either setting up a mission, or was a kind of social politics.

"Yeah General, I'm doing my paperwork just like everyone else."

This was true: although originally to Roy, Edward not doing his paperwork reflected him and was extremely negative. But now, he was lacking in trusted followers to do his field missions and was in desperate need of Ed's help, not his paperwork (though he'd never admit it).

"Listen, General..." started Edward, "I can do a few field missions, if you need me to."

"...is that so, Colonel Elric?" Mustang was being kind to give Edward paperwork instead of missions, because of the condition of Alphonse. It came as quite a shock to hear Edward wasn't concerned about Alphonse, or that he was willing to leave his side for a few days. Although he wished to ask more, he didn't want his men to hear of Alphonse's illness incase they would use it against Edward.

"Yes sir."

The General crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap, turning his head to glance at his youngest subordinate. "Alright then. I'll inform you on your next mission privately. Meet me tomorrow, regular time and place."

Only Edward understood what this meant. Not bothering to show any respect toward his superior, he simply stated, "Yeah, I might be a little late, too."

Ed grinned and watched Mustang's face turn into his signature smirk, as he turned on his heel and slammed the office door as obnoxiously as possible in an attempt to piss off Mustang. There was no need to check if it did.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N at end.**

That night (or morning, depending how you look at it), Edward came home to deep groans of agony coming from his younger brother. Karma was by his side, gripping onto his hand for dear life and trying to coax him to tell her what he needed, or what medicine would make him better.

In an instant, Ed was beside her with a metal hand on her shoulder, softly muttering, "Pain killers won't stop the illness."

She could tell he didn't wish to accept this, that he was actually agonizing on the inside because of his situation. She silently admitted to herself that these two boys were strong willed, and that she didn't know if she could compute with their expectations of each other, and potentially her.

"I need to talk to you and Alphonse both, but being his condition I think it'll be best if I speak with you first, Karma."

Karma nodded and let go of Al's pained hand, leaving the boy to suffer in his cold sweat.

"Karma, as Alphonse's older brother, I have the responsibility to take care of him. We have no home of our own, and don't want to intrude on our closest friends (the Rockbells), because of Al's condition. I have to take care of him in this dorm, and in order to keep this dorm, I've remained a state alchemist. Because of that, I have access to research that I'm using to find a cure for his illness...but don't tell him I'm researching it...you see, it's the same one that killed our mother a while back..." he trailed off.

Karma was surprised that he trusted her enough to tell her something his brother didn't know, and she was also surprised that he was the _older _brother...Al was smaller than him, but really not _that _much smaller...(1)

"Well anyway, I have to go on a mission soon. The General is going to tell me what it is, tomorrow, and well...um...I was just sort of wondering if maybe you'd stay here for a while...I mean you don't really have anywhere else, right..?"

He felt guilty about saying that last part, but nonetheless, it was true. He stood awkwardly in front of her and scratched the back of his head, all the time blushing about his proposal that she stay in his house while he was gone.

"Just...look after Alphonse while I'm gone, I'll only be gone for a few days and you can buy whatever you want while I'm gone, I'll leave some money...and.."

"Edward," said Karma very softly but without hesitation, "you don't have to bribe. I'll stay. But..." she turned her head to stare at Alphonse's fit in the other room with deep, sad, brown eyes. "What happens if he gets worse."

Edward sighed and shifted his stance slightly. "Then I want you to call this number." he reached for a small book out of his pocket, and jotted a number down quickly, like it was second nature. "It's the Rockbells' number. They're doctors, and they'll know what to do and who you should call if anything goes wrong. But don't worry about it yet, I'm still around." He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned toward the window, staring at the dark façade of Central city in the night.

* * *

Alphonse watched as Edward and Karma entered the room, all the time feeling like he was going to roll over and die in any minute. Yet he still felt amused by his brother's awkward behavior toward this girl. _I think he likes her..!_

Just when his lips painted a smile onto his cherubic face, his body was racked with another coughing fit, causing Edward and Karma to rush to his side, yet again.

"No no, you guys I'm okay." He croaked out. Neither of the two 'lovers' believed him.

"Edward, what should we do?! He's gonna bust a lung!"

"I'll call a doctor to get him some better cough medicine, God dammit this shit doesn't even work! Al, it's all that stupid doctors fault! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!" Edward bellowed, earning him a chuckle from his amused little brother.

"There's nothing funny about this Al!" exclaimed Edward, who was rushing past Karma to get to the phone, squaring her so she wasn't in the way. Al couldn't believe she wasn't blushing at his absolutely hilarious brother. He was bent so panic-stricken over the phone, furiously dialing a random number that he probably assumed was the doctor's number, and what would happen when he picked up on the other line..?! Then there was Karma, (poor Karma) who was clearly taking a liking to Al's emotion-dense older brother who couldn't tell if he liked a girl any different than he could tell if he liked a man! And she was pushed aside so gently by Ed, who was throwing a fit at some poor doctor! She probably had NO IDEA what was going on and was scared out of her wits! Al didn't know if he could handle the hilariosity of the whole situation!

"AHAHAHA! *coughcough* ED PLEASE YOU GUYS! YOU'RE KILLING ME! STOP IT WITH THE PANIC IT'S GONNA MAKE ME LAUGH TO DEATH!" Al cried out between laughs and coughs. It got even worse when the two of them looked absolutely shocked by his words. It was too funny for Al to bear!

Ed set the phone down after staring at his little brother for a while. _It must be a side effect of the pain meds he's been taking..._

Karma watched Ed as he went to Al's cot. "Al, Karma's right, you're gonna hurt yourself by laughing."

Al shook his head knowingly, and bit his lip so he wouldn't think about how funny it'd be if they both rented a room, did their buiseness, and came back finding him dead. What would they write on his grave..? _*Here lyes Alphonse; a wonderful young boy who died busting a lung from laughing at his older brother*. _

* * *

__Alphonse used to be afraid of dying; he never laughed when he was sick, only weakly smiled at his brother to make him stop worrying. But after thinking about what Edward said to him so many years ago, about how they are just one part of the flow of life, Al felt comforted by the embrace of death. He was ready to die.

But Al knew Ed wasn't ready to lose his only family: even Hoenheim died looking at the grave of their mother. Al couldn't stand the thought of Edward living in a dorm room all by himself, working for the military and suffering every day.

Now, however, Karma was there for Edward. He wasn't all alone, and they had the Rockbells to lean on. Al felt ready to leave his brother, knowing he had people around him that cared about him.

_Just a while longer, just until Ed can get emotionally stable; just so there's closure. _

_And so he won't blame himself._

* * *

**A/N:** OK! So ItHawkeyes was the first to review this story! thank you! So, since ItHawkeye mentioned that my timeline was messed up (thank you for the advice XD) I decided to explain really quickly;

This is before Hawkeye is reassigned to Mustang, and Grumman is the Führer President now. Ed (I don't think) turns 16 yet. this is a bit AU so far, it fits into what happens in the actual story (Ed went home with Al and Winry was crying and all that happened...) but then they all found out Al's sick, and so the 2 of them aren't going to travel around. And Ed re joined the military.

Also, the higher rank you are in the military the more access to secret files you get, and so Ed climbed to the rank of Colonel. Mustang is a General.

Chapters will get longer, right now I'm just getting into it. And there will be romance, and a conflict. Thank you!

Thanks for the review ItHawkeyes, everyone should read his/her story it's good.

R&R plz! I will take ideas and advice! :D even if it's just "Ed's boring" or something!

1- Al is smaller b/c he came out of the gate shortly ago and is still bony and sickly.


	6. Chapter 6

**~Sorry for late update! But, nevertheless, ENJOY! :D~**

Edward stood at the General's office door, awaiting his signal to enter. When it came, he stood rudely in front of Roy Mustang's large ivory desk, waiting for his orders for his new mission. Instead, Mustang stared at him for what seemed like forever, until Edward screamed out in protest, "What the Hell 'you lookin' at, you bastard?!"

Roy chuckled out a statement of, "You, Fullmetal. You've changed a lot."

Edward huffed and dropped himself onto Roy's couch, crossing his legs in a reclusive way. "Well, I think you'd change if all you've worked for has been achieved, and then you're faced with an even worse issue regarding..."

Roy understood that Edward was referring to the fact that his little brother has FINALLY been put back to normal, only to be dying. He decided that he'd stop interrogating his subordinate...he doesn't react in the frustratingly hilarious way he used to...

"Here's your mission-" he began while stretching out a manila folder to the hand of Fullmetal. "You are to investigate the Ishvalan cities that are currently being built by our men- you know that many of them are still in favor of the extermination. You seek those out who are betraying our new Fuhrer, then arrest them and bring them here for trial. Also, there may still be some avengers like Scar out there- and since Scar is currently rebuilding camps to the North of where you'll be working, this is a top-notch, very dangerous mission for you to do on your own."

"Ah- a chimp could do this mission, General; find the traitors, bring 'em here. It's not that hard to do."

Roy grimaced to himself. "You don't understand yet just how serious people can be about what they believe in-and if what they believe is challenged by you, you may have to do something you wish you hadn't. It's not as bad as the Revolution, Fullmetal, but it could prove to be really bad if you aren't careful. Don't have a bad attitude, Fullmetal, and don't make it obvious that you're undercover."

"Tsk, yeah yeah..." Ed brushed it off, standing to leave.

"Oh, and Fullmetal," the General added, "be careful."

Just as the situation threatened to become personal and awkward, the General smoothly added, "Because a shrimp like you could easily be tripped over."

Ed frowned and raised his fist to begin ranting about how much he'd grown, how not short he is now and just how much of a total bastard Mustang was, before he spun on his heel, and slammed the door as hard as he could on the way out of the office.

_Hm. Some things never change. _

"Stupid Mustang...stupid mission..." Edward muttered to himself while hanging his coat onto the coat hanger. "I hate this... I hate all of it. Ugh and my team needs their orders while I'm gone...What the hell am I gonna do?!"

"Did something go wrong..?" asked Karma softly. She stood calmly in front of Edward, hands fiddling idly with the cloth that barely covered her slim body.

"O-oh, it's all okay Karma." he said, feeling her centered-ness calm him down. Alphonse used to do that with smooth words, but he could never help but feel bad that his younger brother was the one always having to take care of him. Still, they both had their functions to one another, and they both had weaknesses and strengths (some more apparent than others...;). However, Karma was...refreshing to him- she'd take care of Alphonse, and he could do his job. All was well when she was around.

"Are you sure it's alright, you seem stressed..."

"No, I'm perfectly fine, thanks...uh, Karma."

She let a small smile creep onto her face because of his uncomfortable stance in front of her. _He's so amusing to watch...doesn't he understand how thankful I am for being saved by him..?_

"Well... I just received my mission from the Colonel, and I'm going to be gone for a while now... so.. I'm gonna go pack my shit up. See you in about a week or so."

Karma stared at him while he picked up his suit case of "shit", and went to Al's bed side to say goodbye. Unfortunately, Alphonse was sleeping, so he left a quick scribble that was supposed to say something like "See you when I get back" or "don't die while I'm gone" or something. But it was unreadable.

"I'll take good care of Alphonse.." started Karma.

"Yup, thanks!" he shouted over his shoulder before leaving the apartment.

"I owe it to you..." she said softly to herself.

_She's always in a consistent mood... she's never called me short. She doesn't insult me, and she was so kind to Alphonse. She could take care of him. She seems great with kids-_

Edward snapped out of his thoughts. _But he's not a kid...Why was I thinking about kids?!_ He shook his head to change his train of thought.

_She's gentile-so she could help him sit up to eat and drink his medicine. She's collected enough to not freak out if a military officer calls the house, and maybe she can inform my team that I'll be out for a while...over the phone, of course. She's Ishvalan, though so she can't leave the apartment without wearing sun glasses and concealing clothing. _ And for some reason the clothing part displeased Edward.

_She speaks Amestrian well, so she probably can write in Amestiran. She can write letters to May for Alphonse...Gosh I'm so sick of writing those corny romantic letters that he writes...the worst is reading out loud what she wrote back to him! Hahahaha, Karma is sure in for some fun back at the apartment! _

But Edward knew that even if she could handle all the tasks he laid out for her, he knew if an officer went into the apartment that she'd surely be put in jail, and not only she would be in trouble...he would be too. But it was a risk Ed was willing to take.

* * *

**A/N: Ok, I will be getting into the romantic stuff soon, I just felt the need to get a plot going first (I'm better at emotional drabbley stuff so plot has to go first). I have ideas now, and am no longer suffering a writers block! I had an artist block too, until I got my lazy ass in gear and drew Karma. Wanna see..? TOO BAD! I don't have a scanner! :( sorry guys. Hehehe, I'm in a goofy mood. So what'd you think of the chapter? sucks? good? Lemme know in a REVIEW! Also, do you want Ed's staff to be involved in this story, or would you prefer I make a separate story regarding Ed & the team? Any story ideas? Criticizem? Wanna blackmail me? Wanna insult me..? Wanna tell me to stop making authors notes so long and annoying..?! DO IT IN A REVIEW! :D**

**...Or not. **

**Thanks anyway! **

**XOXOXO I LOVE READERS AND WRITERS**

**ok. i'll shut up now.**

**3 **

**jmtothemusic.**


	7. Chapter 7

Karma woke up to the sound of Al's coughs, rushing to the side of his bed and gently pushing some medicine down his parched throat.

"Thanks..." he rasped, to which she nodded slightly with a small, consiterate smile on her lips. He layed back into his bed, and turned his head to face her.

"You know...I'm not going to be around much longer, Karma."

To most, this would be a shock to hear, especially from one so young. But Karma could feel it; she could feel his body tiring the longer he stayed in the bed and could sense the medication's effects wearing off.

His time was soon, and there was no way to stop it.

She simply nodded her head in empathy, to which Alphonse was surprised. It was as though there was nothing Karma couldn't relate to; nobody she couldn't understand. She was centered and grounded; something Edward would need if Alphonse was to pass.

"You don't talk much, Karma."

Her eyes softened, giving him a look of apology and understanding his humor.

"I only speak when there's something to say." She simply stated and continued to watch him. His eyes smiled back at hers dully, but nevertheless were welcoming.

"I get it; you don't like to say meaningless words. Talking is a necessity, I guess...Brother probably drives you insane, then, huh?" he teased, sending her a glance of amusement. She returned with a blank look that was simply unreadable.

"No. He has opinions; not useless words."

Alphonse snickered at her logic, for she was quite correct; Ed did have an opinion about everything and everyone. Most of the time, they were quite negative, but with her, they were the contrary; in fact, Ed seemed entranced by her, not obnoxious in the least and a bit nervous.

"Hey, Karma?"

She didn't say anything, but continued to look at him.

"When I'm gone, can you take care of brother for me? He's going to need comfort but would never want to look weak to anybody...so..." Al trailed off, scratching his head with uncertainty.

She didn't need to speak her consent;

For that would be meaningless words.

* * *

Edward fiddled with his hands on the train ride, all the time nervous for what could be happening at the apartment. He thuroughly trusted both Al and Karma, but was concerned that somebody could find out about all of it and hurt them...after all, Karma was Ishvalan.

"Colonel Elric, sir..?" One of Edward's shy teammates questioned, making Ed snap out of his trance and attempt to look powerful; intimidating.

"Yes, Sergent, what is it?"

"We're...we're here, sir..." he trailed off with embarrassment.

Ed took in the scene around him, realizing that his crew was waiting for him to give the order to get off the train. He wondered how long he'd just sat there, making a fool out of himself, not knowing what was going on.

"O-oh...yeah, ok everyone." Edward's voice rose to command, trying to act with leadership and power. He explained the mission, which was to take out some criminals who were undercover workers for the weapon factory that submitted battle-arms to the military, and take them into custody. When the plan was comfirmed, he had everyone walk off the train as casually as they could; for the entire mission was to be in desguise.

But there was no focus on the mission at hand; Edward was too lost in his thoughts about his home life... he was so worried about Al and Karma, but moreover he was confused about something...He was confused on the reason that his little brother and Karma staying in a room together for a few days made him angry; jealous even. It wasn't like he wanted attention.

He had a lot of Al's attention already.

It was the strangest thing; he felt angry toward Alphonse for spending so much time with Karma... Well, not _angry,_ but a bit frustrated.

It was as though he wanted to spend time with the girl.

...And he'd never felt the need for somebody's approval before.

_What...what is this feeling I have..?!_

* * *

Alphonse was asleep, so Karma decided to cook a meal for him... Since she was Ishvalan, she was used to having to make meals as high in calories as possible, being they were always traveling. Since Alphonse was so thin and frail, it would be necessary.

When Ishvalan's were traveling from hidden shelter to hidden shelter, they had to find food to improve health...so Karma picked through the kitchen to find the most healthy foods for Alphonse's condition.

_He seems nauseous; his head hurts and he feels weak. He needs antioxidants and vitamin A._

She prepared a dish of pasta, which had carbs in it to gain weight. She threw in veggies for vitamins and some meat to help gain muscle.

His time may have been coming, but he shouldn't be in pain.

Fiddling around with the stove she was shocked when a fire started; she didn't understand that _that_ was the purpose of the stove, so she ran to the sink and poured water over it, breathing heavily.

She'd seen Ed use the sink, but not the stove.

When the stove suddenly started again, she was shocked even more. But she then understood that the fire was coming from the machine itself and was instigated when she turned the small handle. She placed the pot filled with water over the fire and brought it to a boil, slowly pouring the pasta and desired ingredients in for extra measure.

She then remembered that meat would be good for Al's strength, and picked out a small chicken to roast in the oven.

_Ed made turkey in the oven, so I just have to do what he did._

After a bit of fiddling, playing with the various buttons, estimating just how much time the small chicken would need to be cooked, she set the timer for 45 minutes, turning the device up to 250 degrees just to be safe; turning it up to high she feared would burn the whole house down.

Sighing with relief, stirring the pasta pot slowly, she heard a small thump.

"..Alphonse, are you alright?" She asked, looking through the doorway to find that Al was still sleeping.

There were more thumps: Karma turned wildly around to try and find the origin, when she heard them again.

_Knocking._

Somebody was knocking at the door.

Karma didn't know what to do; surely they knew Edward was gone, so were they going to check on Al..? Or did they think Ed was home?

Or were they looking for _her._

_Knock knock knock._

"Hey", demanded a low, muffled voice from the other side of the door, "Alphonse, I know you're there. Ed told me you would be okay when he was gone, but I don't believe it. What's going on in there, kid?"

But Al was still sleeping.

"Alphonse. Can I come in? I have a spare key."

But still, he was sleeping. Karma didn't think twice about her decision; hide.

She whirled around, searching for an empty space to hide in, but not wanting to make any noise in case the man would hear and know she was there.

The cabinets were full of pots and pans, all of which made loud noises.

"I'm coming in."

Heart pounding, she considered under the bed, but saw it was too small of a space to get into quickly.

_Click._

_He's turning the door knob; he's coming in!_

There was but one option; the oven.

She leapt in without thinking twice, shutting the door softly and hoping the visit would be short-lived; after all, lives in the oven were short-lived as well.

And she prayed the man wouldn't smell what's cooking.

* * *

_"_Alphonse," Mustang said, closing the door behind him. "Al, you're all by yourself."

He noticed the boy was sleeping, and decided that it would be best to leave him that way.

But then again, he didn't see anybody around, and it would have been dangerous to leave the sick kid alone. So Roy loosened his suit a bit and sat in the chair next to Al's bed, looking at the various medicines, and wondering why Ed left him all alone.

He stood out of boredom, and walked into the kitchen.

_Is that pasta..? Ed left his brother alone with cooking pasta? Does he know his brother can't walk, let alone cook_?

So he turned the stove down, feeling suspicious.

_No, Fullmetal's smarter than that..._

_So was Al cooking?_

__He craned his neck to see that Al was still sleeping ceaselessly.

_So..._Roy thought smugly, _I'm not alone, then, am I?_

* * *

Karma's heart pounded in her chest as she tried to sit on her clothing in a way that wouldn't cause a fire, or cook her flesh. The heat beat down on her from all sides, and she felt oxygen deprived as she struggled to breath against the menacing heat.

Sweat dripped from her hairline, rolling down her cheeks which felt burnt. Her eyes watered, or perhaps she was crying from fear.

_I gotta get out of here... I gotta get out of here...Please, please...hurry up and leave already!_

But the man was not leaving, as she struggled to see out of the oven... He was entering the kitchen and staring at her pasta pot.

_Nononononoo..._

Her knee was touching her forehead, as she was in fetal position and cramped as small as she could get. She felt a sizzling on her back from her flesh being burnt up against the sides of the oven, and she wanted to wail out for help, but she also knew that it would be worse if a racist Amestrian found her...

_Worse than cooking in an oven..?_

_Maybe._

She dared to look at her hands, which were turning a shade of pink from the heat, her hair was just about fried and her lips were beginning to peel.

_It's okay It's ok it's ok..._

She was hyperventilating, soft tears rolling down her cheeks, fingers shaking while she felt the tears burn on her face, sizzling into nothingness.

Her voice croaked when she tried to stifle herself from screaming.

But the footsteps outside were persisting, not leaving as the man clanged around with the pots and pans in the kitchen.

_I'mgonnadieI'mgonnadieI'mgonnadie!_

Her breaths were no longer steady, her chest heaved to find air and it was a struggle while her fragile body tried to keep itself from being cooked.

Heaving. Heart pounding and fingers trembling. Sweating, crying.

She was losing water.

Her eyes shot toward the chicken cooking quietly beside her.

It was turning a golden brown.

_I estimated the chicken would take 45 minutes to fully cook...I wonder how long I will take._

_Thump thump thump *HEAVE* thump thump thump *HEAVE* thump thump-_

...And the footsteps outside ceased. She racked her ears to hear a click of the door outside, knowing it was over, and swiftly slamming her foot into the door to make her escape.

...When she found she was stuck.

...

And she screamed.

"_HELP! HELP ME! PLEASE SOMEBODY..!_ Help...!"

Banging her hands on the door, she couldn't seem to get in a more athletic position to push the door out; she was too crammed inside..! The door wouldn't budge, and she felt the clothing on her back flake off as well as the skin benieth it simmer with the heat.

So she screamed some more.

* * *

**...Yeah, I don't know what to say about that. I always wanted to write a scene with somebody cooking in an oven, and originally I had an idea for the 2003 anime with Ed, but this will work nicely into the story.**

**That was horrifying. Imagine being cooked alive in an oven, and discovering you can't get out?**

**Ok, putting aside, I'd like to apologize for the late update and thank you for the reviews! I really appreciate it, and when I got 2 reviews today, I just made myself update this. They were inspirational!**

**Anyway...this is my least popular story so I don't update it as often...I know, sorry. I still will update as soon as possible, though, and I've got a great, funny idea with a touch of romance for next chapter...which will definitely be up sooner than this one was. Until then, stay cool guys. B)**

**Your appreciative and random author, jmtothemusic.**


	8. Chapter 8

She felt the heat peeling her skin, cooking her right beside the chicken that she'd estimated would take about 45 minutes to be completely cooked...kicking the oven in an attempt to escape, but finding that she was stuck, baking in the oven...

_I estimated 45 minutes to cook the chicken..._

_I wonder how long it'll take to cook me._

And she screamed.

* * *

Roy was just exiting Fullmetal's dorm room after checking on Alphonse; finding the teen was very much alive, but fast asleep.

Shutting the door softly behind him, he stuck his hands in his pocket and continued to casually walk down the military halls, finding they were unbearably empty and quiet.

...until he heard a scream.

He jumped a little, hearing a woman's scream coming from inside of the dorm room. _There's somebody in there!_

He darted into the dorm to find that Alphonse was startled awake, panting for air from the shock that'd surely hurt his lungs. Mustang ran to his side, rubbing his back gently to calm his beating heart and struggling lungs, then grabbing his inhaler quickly and shoving it into his mouth, saving him from suffocation.

It all happened very fast, as in about five seconds, he was in the kitchen where the agonized screech seemed to be coming from, and tearing through cupboards that he'd already searched through earlier that night.

Where the Hell..?

He whirled around, not knowing where the sound could be coming from, until he saw a pounding on the oven door.

_The fricking oven?!_

Mustang wasn't even thinking clearly when he tore the oven door open to find a skinny girl with tears pouring down her face- though the tears (which surely came from fear) were sizzling on her skin, she was still furiously kicking where the oven door was still open.

"Hey, hey!" hollered Mustang over her screeching, catching her flailing legs before they hit him straight in the stomach.

Her voice eventually broke, and she was left panting (sweating) and staring at Roy with a new kind of fear.

She struggled, trying to escape the heat, but being cramped the way she was she couldn't get out without severely burning her own flesh...

Though that deed was most likely done, since her shirt was on fire.

"Hold still," Roy ordered, trying to keep the shake out of his voice, for this was a situation he'd never learned to deal with...

_Keep calm, if you don't hold everyone together, who will?_

His erratic heart-beat slowed slightly, the pounding on his rib cage becoming slightly more controlled as he first slammed his fist on the 'off' button, ceasing the agonizing heat that bore onto the girls dark skin.

He sprinted to the sink where he shoved a glass under the water, and ran back to the oven to throw the water over the fire that plagued the girls clothing.

The clothing crumbled from the sudden heat change, ash and soot falling onto the opened oven door.

Now that the heat had stopped, the oven was not as dangerous to the girl, and so Mustang took a huge breath into his lungs, and let out the air he hadn't realized had been caught in his clenched throat.

The girl, however, just stared at him from the crammed space with a nervous look on her red cheeks, her slippery-looking skin was stained with sweat and grease from the oven, and there were various burns up her trembling arms.

Her chest was heaving like a maniac, and was glistening from the liquids that burned from her body.

But she was _alive._

Roy took a short moment to calm himself down, knowing he had to be the pillar for this girl to lean on if he was to get her out of the oven, where she was almost baked to death.

He bent down beside the oven door, ignoring the fact that the dark girl's clothing had all been burnt off of her flesh.

"Listen to me." he said as steadily as possible through his own shaken voice. "I need you to work with me so I can get you out, okay?"

Her eyes were glazed and wide, perhaps from being in shock from coming to such close terms with Death himself, or perhaps from being afraid of...

...of Roy himself.

He had been so busy in the struggle to save her life that he hadn't noticed her nationality:

This girl, she was _Ishvalan._

He pushed the memories of the Cival war to the back of his mind, knowing well that if he started thinking about those horrid times, he'd certainly never have the nerves to get the living, breathing girl out of the oven.

_Ironic, _he thought to himself, _how I cooked all of her people alive just how she almost died...and yet, here I am saving her. What makes her any different..? _

Though his thoughts were sarcastic and amusing in a dark, twisted way, Roy truly didn't want to kill any of the Ishvalans in the war and had faced the fact that it'd been wrong, horribly wrong and a disgusting task.

So now, he had a chance to save somebody...to make up a small part of the debt he owed to the people he'd killed for military glory.

And there was no way he'd turn that opportunity down.

Understanding what he had to do, he grabbed a kitchen mitt and tenderly slid them over her gentile, trembling little hands.

_"Don't_ be afraid to touch the sides of the oven," he ordered, though he understood that it would be impossible to not be afraid of the oven that almost killed her.. "The mitts are made for ovens."

She just looked at him with intense fear, not making a move to escape from the oven, but not shrinking away from his stare.

_She's afraid...she's almost as afraid of me as she is cooking alive._

But Roy knew she'd come around; he hadn't hurt her, and she was so defenseless it'd be easy for him to just close the oven door and cook her, if he really didn't want her alive. So she slowly, cautiously placed her hands onto the sides of the oven, and pushed as hard as she could, not coming any closer to escaping the cage she was stuck in.

He didn't have a clue how she'd get out on her own.

The way she was twisted didn't enable her legs to be of much use, since they were crammed beside one another onto the side of the oven, her foot pressing on the top. Her head was shoved almost under her neck into the right hand corner, where her back laid on the bottom of the oven. She was basically in a sideways fetile position, and was utterly stuck.

Mustang would help her by sliding her out: gripping her waist and sliding a hand under her knees surely would enable him to slip her out of the oven, but Roy knew that in her current state, she wouldn't be comfortable with him touching her.

...After all, her clothing was completely burned off...

But watching her fumble about, struggling with all of her might was disturbing Roy in sick ways he couldn't explain. So really, it was his only option.

"Listen to me," he started again, carefully; calmly. "I know how we can get you out, but you have to trust me, okay?"

She hesitated, not sure where he was going with this.

But nevertheless, she agreed with a simple nod.

"Okay." he said, standing up to get in a more athletic position to reach into the oven with.

He placed a hand by her waist, sliding his arm beneath her lower back. Her skin burned his, but he avoided flinching. He knew that for her, the back was the easy part.

_She's really not going to want my hand under her knees when she's in that position..._

The Colonel then placed a firm hold under her knees, which sat very close to...well, uncomfortable areas. But she didn't twitch from his touch, thank goodness... it was awkward enough as it was.

He lifted her without lifting her too far, then slipped her fragile body out of the small space.

Her feet hit the ground with a thud, even though Roy'd tried his best to be gentile. As soon as she was standing, she was collapsed onto the ground, trembling all over and muffling her terrified sobs.

Well, Roy wasn't about to touch her again after the..._incident._..but he could ask Al where the phone was.

He needed to talk to Edward about this..._now._

* * *

When he'd tenderly slid his hands under her, she had to try her hardest not to scream; How could she not remember the face of the Flame Alchemist..? She'd never forget the day he'd burned her parents alive, the day he'd destroyed her little and big brothers. She could never forget the time that all the joy in her life shattered to a million little pieces, just by the snap of his passive fingers. She'd never forget that face.

But at the same time, he'd looked so..._sorrowful _at the moment: he'd just looked at her with understanding eyes, he pleaded with her to let him help her. She couldn't turn down his offer with that look in his eyes; he didn't look at her like she was Ishvalan trash. He looked at her the same way Edward and Alphonse looked at her;

Like a woman. Like any other woman, any other person would look like. She was just a PERSON to them; she felt like an equal.

And it tormented her already plagued mind. _As though being cooked alive isn't enough..._

So the minute he'd set her down like a piece of treasured china, she'd broken to pieces in front of him, not caring who saw or that she was completely naked and exposed; she broke down to tears, stumbling to the floor at this perishable moment.

_Oh, what do I do?!_

And through her cries, she sobbed softly the name of a person she trusted so deeply;

"Edward..."

* * *

A/N: To be totally honest with you guys, This chapter was my favorite to write so far because I love the Roy/Karma fluff...IDK, I know this is an EdXOc story, but that was just SO FUN.

Next chap, We'll get some more Ed into the picture, and Al too! :D

Who do you like better with Karma, Roy or Ed? Also, Karma's past is coming up soon.

REVIEWS ARE INSPIRATION! :D

See you next time!

~jmtothemusic


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